KARACHI: Over a hundred thousand people won the right to buy plots in Bahria Town’s first major town scheme through computerised balloting in Karachi on Sunday. The new gated community area of Karachi is a master plan to be developed by Bahria Properties some 9 kilometers from the Karachi toll plaza on the M-9 Super Highway.

The balloting was held in a grand ceremony on the site of the plan in which the top officials associated with the firm’s Karachi projects were present, including the vice chief executive of the group, Cdre (retd) Muhammad Ilyas. It was attended by scores of families who participated in the ballot.

In line with the various town schemes developed by the firm in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore, Bahria Town is committed to provide residents with state-of-the-art facilities including, schools, parks, supermarkets and most importantly, a secure environment.

Speaking on the occasion, Zain Malik, Bahria Town Vice Chief Executive (VCE), said that the response from the people of the city shows that they trust us. He mentioned that the projects being constructed by Bahria Town will be an important addition to Pakistan’s economy. He termed the Bahria Town’s initiative as “revolutionary”.

Apart from the latest town facilities that will be provided to the residents, Bahria Town is also initiating on the roads that would connect the town to the city.Malik said the town will be the firm’s most luxuriously planned project with world-class infrastructure and facilities adding that it was unprecedented in the city’s history that a private firm is investing billions of rupees in developing the public infrastructure.

The firm plans to invest Rs1.8 billion on a flyover and the two underpasses and another 2.5 billion to establish a “Bahria Metro Bus”. “The salient features of the project also include 18-hole USGA standard golf course and the biggest shopping mall of Pakistan and the speed of the whole project will be unprecedented,” Zain added.

The successful applicants were happy when they found their names on the list. The excited families said that it was an investment worth holding as Bahria Town’s track record is impeccable. Shoaib Ansari, one of the successful applicants, who applied for a 150 yards’ plot, said that he will hold the land for his only son. “I believe this project would be worth more than DHA,” he said.

International consultants and architects were hired for the master plan, which is slated to become a project worth over a billion dollars. Among some of the many features of the project, is latest security and rescue service systems, and insurance for the homes from fire and theft. The independent power generation plant means the Bahria Town Karachi will be load-shedding free.

Other than these facilities, a 18-hole United States Golf Association (USGA) standard golf course, a number of lakes, 5-star hotels, gold-class cinemas, international theme park, play land, clubs, zoos will also be in walking distance for the residents.